I appreciate the nice mention I received at Examiner.com. Reporter Jordan Young writes for the LA / OC Artssection of the news site. Last week, Mr. Young offered a review of a number of Hollywood / Entertainment-related books, CD’s, and films on DVD now out for your enjoyment including Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. He writes:

Manny Pacheco’s “Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History” (in paperback from Book Publishers Network) is as much about American history as it is the movies. The character actors of Hollywood’s storied past (Claude Rains, John Carradine, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson) provide the springboard. Lionel Barrymore’s wheelchair-bound performances are contrasted with FDR’s hidden disabilities. Pacheco makes a case for Ward Bond as a patriot for his role in championing the ‘50s blacklist; I disagree with his argument, but that’s what makes the horse race.

Actually, I completely agree with the reviewer’s last viewpoint. In my chapter about Ward Bond, I wrote that the actor was used by the government as a pawn during the McCarthy Era. Bond believed he acted as a patriot by naming names; Hollywood individuals he surmised were Communists. Because of his over-zealous behavior that destroyed careers, Bond was villified by his peers until the day he died in 1960. Since John Wayne and Ronald Reagan would later be universally lionized for stern assessment about the Soviet Union and Communism, shouldn’t we forgive Bond for misguided actions (though I do not condone his real-life personal decisions). It might be charitable to remember Ward Bond’s gallant roles during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

If you would like to read Jordan Young’s complete article, click on the link below:

Jordan R. Young is a journalist, playwright and lifelong theatre buff whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times; his plays have been produced and read throughout Southern California.